My Limerick Poem

There once was a man from Limerick
He rhymed so much he made himself sick
He broke his pen in two
And threw away the glue
And taught his dog Buddy a new trick

Author and Style of Poetry

I chose to mirror the poetry of Edward Lear and his limerick poems. The reason why I chose this author, and more particularly this style of poetry, is because this style is very light and fun, as well as very comical. I enjoyed reading nursery rhymes as a child so being able to create my own was very appealing to me as I was researching the styles of poetry.

Styles of Poetry

Sonnet
-poem with 14 lines
-Petrarchean Sonnet (Italian) and Shakespearean (English)
-Petrarchean: abba abba abba cc, Shakespearean: abab cdcd efef gg
-abbreviation of the Italian sonetto, "little sound"-originated in Italy
-during the Italian Renaissance (1200 AD) poets wrote "sonnet sequences," groups of love poems
-sonetto was originally a poem recited with musical accompaniment sung to the strains of lute or madolin
-sonnets are usually about love and beauty but may also be about the effects of time and mortality
-Shakespeare most famous for writing sonnets, but during the English Renaissance, Spenser and Wyatt also emerged

• http://www.sonnets.org/sharp-b.htm
• http://vccslitonline.cc.va.us/sonnet116/history.htm
• http://www.oppapers.com/essays/History-Sonnet-History-Shakespeare/109054
• http://www.saskschools.ca/~otl_el/grassroots/poetry/pwrpnt/sonnets/sld002.html

Haiku
-earliest haikus were songs, prayers, and incantations to gods
-reached its highest popularity in the 9th to 11th centuries
-one of the oldest forms of poetry that is still active
-first there was tanka (5-7-5-7-7 syllable count), then there was renga (5-7-5-7-7-5-7-5) meaning linked elegance, with any verse in a renga known as hokku and haikai which was 5-7-5-in the beginning of the 19th century, M. Shiki declared renga officially dead, though it regrew 60 years later in North America and Germany
-Shiki combined the names hokku and haikai to create haiku
-in Japan, haiku are written in one line, but since other cultures do not hear the natural pauses at the end of each phrase, the foreign language haiku took on the 3-line shape
-some famous haiku poets include: Matsuo Basho, Shuson Kato, Kójó, Kijo Murakami, Raizan, Masaoka Shiki, and Kyoshi Takahama

• http://www.ahapoetry.com/haidefjr.htm

Limerick
-the content of many limericks are often bawdy and humorous
-limericks are forms of poetry that are simple and short (only 5 lines)
-the history of limericks is somewhat uncertain and doubtful
-limericks are said not to have a rightful place amongst 'cultivated poetry' due to the aforementioned characteristics of limericks
-can be traced back to the 14th century english history
-limericks used in nursery rhymes and various other poems for children
-limericks were often repeated by beggars/working class in British taverns and pubs of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, therefore the poets who created these limericks were often drunkards
-word limerick comes from the town of Limerick
-limericks consist of 5 anapaestic lines; lines 1, 2, 5 have seven to ten syllables and rhyme with one another; lines 3 and 4 have five to seven syllables and also rhyme with each other
-the content of limericks can often be indecent, dirty or obscene but they make the reader laugh
-Edward Lear is famous for writing limericks; he wrote A Book of Nonsense which included many limericks

• http://www.poetry-online.org/limericks.htm

Poetry Slam Reflection

Overall, I believe the poetry slam went very well. Many of my classmates were able to clearly demonstrate the theme of madness through their poems, and a select few had poems that were very successful in portraying this theme; they evoked emotion in their words and they wrote cohesively as well as in a way to make their poem flow. As for me, I believe I was successful in portraying madness. I was concerned, however, that many students would not fully understand how my poem clearly connected to the theme because I based it off of a short story I read in my AP English class last year called "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. This poetry slam was very successful and helpful in our understanding of poetry and conveying different themes.

Internet Headlines

Guess Who
People think I’m 60 years old
The Living Dead!
I wash my face with shampoo & love the ‘worst dressed’ outfits
Wrong On So Many Levels
Orlando Is Blooming
Behind Closed Doors
Oh, good. She’s wearing Daisy Dukes again.
I Fit Into My High School Jeans
Topless again. Go figure.
Just found out Jon Gosselin is getting divorced; thinks he’s cute
Your new Heidi & Spencer

Acrostic Poems

Cake

Crazy delicious and sinfully sweet

Always covered in sugary frosting

Keep your fork away from my plate

Every time I'm disappointed when it's gone

Christiana

Calls me when I'm in the room

Helps me when she's nice

Really obnox when she abbrevs

If she is in a bad mood she's horrendous

Stop talking like a nerd

Texting non-stop is great

If you want carpal tunnel

And stop texting people on my phone

No one believes that it's me...

Also, I despise her, kinda

William Shakespeare

The son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-on-Avon on April 23, 1564. He was educated at the King Edward IV Grammar School in Stratford, learning Latin and Greek, as well as reading the Roman dramatists. At the age of eighteen, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who happened to be seven or eight years his senior, and they soon raised two daughters, Susanna and Judith. Little is known of his activities during 1585 up until 1592, but some sources lead to the idea that he may have been an actor and playwrite or had taught at school. It is more probable, however, that shortly after 1585 he began his apprenticeship as an actor in London. Shakespeare joined the Lord Chamberlain's company of actors and in 1599 he joined a group of Chamberlain's Men that would form a syndicate to build and operate a new playhouse known as the Globe, which soon became the most famous theatre of its time. With his income from the Globe, he purchased New Place, his home in Stratford. Between 1593 and 1601, Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets; sonnets 1-126 were addressed to a beloved friend, and sonnets 127-152 were addressed to a fascinating "Dark Lady," whom the poet loves. Nearly all his poems discuss the immortalization of beauty and love in poetry, as well as the decay of time. Shakespeare wrote more than thirty plays, each one belonging to the category of history, comedy, tragedy, or romance. He retired from the stage after the year 1612 and returned to his home in Stratford. He died on April 23, 1616, and was buried at the Stratford Church two days later.

William Shakespeare - Sonnet 130

Sonnet 130

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks,
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go,
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.


Unlike many poems, Sonnet 130 does not focus on exaggerated comparisons when describing the woman he loves, but focuses on more honest characteristics. In the first two lines, he admits that his mistress' eyes do not shine bright like the sun, nor are her lips as red as any coral. He also states that perfumes are more pleasant odors than his mistress' breath and the sound of music is more pleasing than her voice, though he loves to hear her speak. Shakespeare adds the eleventh and twelfth lines in order to add that his mistress is not like a goddess, but earthbound and mortal. By the end of the sonnet, however, he admits that she is as rare as the subjects of poems written by poets that are described with exaggerated comparisons.

Shakespearean Sonnet

Mary Ilene

Silver hair that gracefully frames her face
Gold glasses perched on the tip of her nose
Eyes that gleam with happiness everyplace
A welcoming home that will never close
And smiles so warm, spread like wildfire
Contagious laughter that fills the room
Never let down, not by problems so dire
Won't get upset by any type of doom
She will lift you up whenever you're down
She'll always care for you if you fall ill
She'll never let smiles turn to a frown
If your glass is warm, your drink she will chill
She's always helpful and lends you her ears
And she will raise your hopes and quell your fears

Petrarchan Sonnet

Watching You

Eyes everwatching, everpresent; men
Secretly quiver at the sight of it.
Any evidence of crime, any bit,
Would be found by the movement of that pen.
Like an animal is trapped in its den,
In a corner alone he's forced to sit,
As he writes his thoughts, words a perfect fit
For the terror brought by the "mother hen."
His stare piercing the corners of your mind,
Seemingly reading your innermost thoughts,
Those that would lead you to death even more.
Portrayed as helpful and portrayed as kind,
You would never know of his secret plots;
Eyes so chilling they pierce straight to your core.